Broken

Chapter 24 (Claire)

  I come out of the bathroom with a towel around my hair and my clothes on. I'm soaked. Blake followed me out with his jeans on as he smacks my butt with his towel. I put up with it for a while but I tackle him and pin him to the couch after a few minutes. "Dear god could you freaking stop?"

  At that moment, my brother walks in, rubbing his eyes. It was only then that I realize who else was there. It shouldn't have surprised me after what Blake told me, but it did. I guess I wasn't used to having Emily standing in our living room. She's grinning like the cat that caught the canary and it is really ticking me off. Right about now, I would love to wring that perfect little neck of hers.

  "Claire," Dylan says with his arm around Emily's waist, "this is my girlfriend, Emily."
 
"Oh trust me," I growl, "I know Emily." My eyes narrow a bit as I look at Emily and she laughs, her eyes trailing up and down my body. Sizing me up?
 
  "Claire, don't do it. She's not worth it," Blake mutters from his spot on the couch. He then grabs his crutches which he had leaned against the couch and lifted himself up. "You're driving us to school. And Emily will get what's coming to her when she ends up on one of those teen mom shows or whatever the hell they are."
 
  Emily's perfect eyebrows shoot up and I can tell she is pissed. Sadly, so is Dylan. "Claire, you get your boyfriend to leave or I will physically drag him out. You should go anyway."

  "How long have you been dating Emily?" I wasn't thinking. I just had to know.

  My brother's face goes red-from anger—and embarrassment I bet—and he sucks in a deep breath. "Secretly for about a year and a half. Why do you care?"
 
"She was cheating on you Dylan. With Blake. And you still proposed?" I cannot believe my brother.

  "Yeah, I did. Because I love her. Emily, you can't judge me because you don't know what love is."

  "Oh, I don't? Wow Dylan. Just wow!" Frustrated, I storm out of the house, Blake on his crutches right behind me. He was able to keep up pretty well, but had some issues with the car door.
 
  "You do realize I'm not upset about Emily, right?"
 
  "Why not?" He should be furious. She had been cheating on him for God's sake! But he doesn't even care.
 
  "Why would I care? She's a spoiled princess that gets what she wants, when she wants. My parents just wanted me to date her because she is a freaking model. You know, 'fake it until you make it'. They thought we would get married one day, and I was actually starting to like her. But now, I have something even better."
 
  "And what's that?" What could possibly be better than Emily? Perfect, amazing, model Emily.
 
  "I have you Claire, and that is the best thing I can ask for."
 
  I feel color rush to my cheeks as I turn the key, starting the car and pulling out of the driveway. "And how the hell am I better than Emily? She is perfect in every way!"
 
  "Not every way," Blake says with a grin and leans back in the seat. "She is a fake. Fake everything. But you, you don't fake anything. Maybe a smile every once and a while, but you don't fake much. For that, I love you. Yes, I said it. I love you Claire."
 
  I was stunned into silence. The last person that said he loved me now hates me. I wish I could explain this all to him. I was thinking about what I should say when I pulled up next to Megan's Volks Wagon beetle and I hop out, helping Blake. Megan's grin was wide when she saw me, but it faded a bit when she saw Blake. She had made the mistake of dating him once.
 
  "Hey Meg," I grin at her and then lean against my car. I was kind of shocked that her boyfriend, Jackson, wasn't around. "Where's-"
 
  "Do you want the long explanation or the short one?"
 
  It always amused me when Megan talked, so I chose the long version. Megan slumps against her beetle and begins talking.
 
  "Okay, so we were totally going to go out to the movies yesterday, right? Well, that's what I thought anyway. So I texted him and asked him what time we should meet up. He asked me what I was talking about and I reminded him that we were going to go to the movies. He told me to go over around five, but I wanted to surprise him, so I left a little bit early, you know? Anyway, I noticed a mustang and I knew it wasn't Jack's. So I waited, and I waited, and I waited. Finally, Tera-blond hair, hazel eyes, you know her-comes out and kisses Jackson. Of course, I get out of my car, said some things I don't regret, and then smacked Jackson after I broke up with him." When she finishes, she takes a deep breath and rubs her face.
 
  "God Meg, I'm sorry." I pull her into a hug and put my arm around her shoulders.
 
  "Maybe guys just aren't my type. Or maybe I haven't found the right one. I don't know. Maybe I'm just meant to be a lonely cat lady. Maybe I'll grow up and have a cat for each person who dumps me."
 
  "You will not end up like that. We will get you a date Megan. Blake, you, and me will get you the perfect someone."
 
  "Really? You'll do that?" She's grinning from ear to ear and I laugh softly.
 
  "Yeah, we will." Then, I smile at Blake and we walk into the school together. We must look odd together. The girl who looks like a porcelain doll, the girl that nobody really knows because she blends into the background, and the boy who got his leg chopped off a few days ago. If I had to give us characters from Oz, we would probably be the scare crow, the lion, and Dorothy.
 
  The reasons I chose those? Megan-she's my best friend and I love her, but let's face it-she's not the brightest. She could use a brain, like the scare crow. Blake-he's just helping us along. Me especially. That's why I compared him to Dorothy. And me? I could use some courage. All we're missing is the tin man and it's a no brainier who that would be. Definitely Emily, because she would use a heart.
 
  "I'll take Blake to first hour," Megan volunteers and I nod. Blake gives me a quick kiss on the lips before disappearing down the long hallway with my best friend as I slip into my first hour to face the day. I just have this feeling that everything will go great today. God, I hope it does anyway.